Eighth-graders have
become experts on national parks by learning about them in every class, every
subject.

“It
is a cross-curricular interdisciplinary project that stems from preservation of
national parks,” said Kenton Bustin, a science teacher at South Hills Middle
who is part of a team of teachers who collaborated on the project.

Last fall, students chose
a national park to explore through language arts, science, computer tech, art and
history assignments.

“This way is more fun to
learn,” said eighth-grader Gage Childs, who said the project spanned the whole
year.

The project stems from
ecology, said Bustin. He assigned students to study the plants and animals in
their parks and their relationship in the food chain. They also researched
human impact on the ecosystems. The project showed the students first-hand the
effects of geological forces such as erosion and volcanoes.

“I didn’t realize how
many geological features it has and how big it was,” said Zyan Hinckley, who
studied Yellowstone National Park.

Gage’s project focused
on Grand Teton National Park. He had visited the park previously but hadn’t
known about the educational and recreational opportunities available. Through
his research, he was surprised to learn there are Billy goats living there.

Students applied language
arts curriculum skills to the project by writing descriptive, comparative and
argumentative essays about their parks.

“We had to pick another national
park and compare the two and say why ours was better or worse,” said Zyan.

They also wrote an essay
about why people should visit their park. Language arts teacher, Kimese
Vanderlinden, said the curriculum requires eighth-graders to learn to create a
works cited list. Her students could use their list throughout the year, referring
to sources as different projects were assigned.

Students applied art curriculum
as they created models and dioramas of the geological features and environment
of their parks. Zyan made her diorama of Old Faithful out of tissue paper. She
said there were few guidelines so student could be very creative.

Students planned road
trips of how they would travel to their park. Gage said he enjoyed this project
the most. He plans to visit the park again.

Through the creation of
timelines and study of native peoples, students explored the history of their parks.

“I liked to research Native Americans and the
different cultures of the people who lived there,” said Gabe Kidd.

He found most of his information
on Glacier Bay National Park of Alaska from the National Parks Reserve website
where he developed an appreciation for park rangers.

“I learned that people
in the park work really hard to make sure everything is kept clean and safe for
the environment,” Gabe said, adding that he realizes that nature is fragile. “The
ice is breaking off, and after a certain amount of time there won’t be a Glacier
Bay—it’ll just be water,” he said.

Gabe has learned the
value of national parks.

“National parks remind
people what life used to be like,” he said. “They help us be aware of nature
and how people are affecting it and what we need to do to stop problems.”

Zyan is concerned that
humans negatively impact these nature preserves.

“The problem in my park is littering—that kind
of worries me,” Zyan said. “And pollution, too, because a lot of animals are
getting killed because of pollution and garbage.”

The students believe
preservation of national parks is important.

“It’s a good place to always have a little bit
of nature,” Zyan said. Gage said national parks provide opportunities for
people from cities to experience outdoor activities like hiking and fishing.

Some of the kids have
been able to visit their parks. Parents plan family vacations around the visit.

The year’s worth of
research culminated in a commercial created by each student to showcase their parks.

“The commercial brings
together everything they’ve learned in an entertaining way,” said Vanderlinden.
“It is a way for students to share what they have learned with their
classmates.”